Hard Liquor Banned at Rockaway Beachfront Concessions

3 years ago

(Rebecca Fishbein) Beach season is finally in full swing, and nothing compliments sand and surf like a pitcher of mojitos you and your buddies snuck in in an air-tight plastic pitcher. But the boardwalk's about to get a little less boozy in the Rockaways, where a new city ordinance has banned hard liquor at beachfront concession stands; and obviously, food sellers are not happy.

Concessionaires can still sell beer and wine, but cocktails a no-go this year. Rockaway beaches are still hurting from the after-effects of Hurricane Sandy—Fort Tilden, for instance, is shuttered for an unforeseen future, and other stretches of the beach are struggling to make a comeback this season. Operators are concerned this new booze ban will hurt their bottom lines. "We’re responsible people, we know how to deal with selling alcohol,” Maribel Araujo, owner of Caracas Arepa Bar on Beach 106th Street, told the Daily News. “I would like to have a sitdown with the lifeguards and understand what their concerns are.”